In the field of electronics, including computing devices, the typical trend has been to reduce the size of components while providing the same or improved performance. This means, in most cases, an increase in device density. However, when device density is increased, this invariably least to a higher power density. In turn, higher power densities lead to increased heat dissipation and temperature control issues. In some cases, temperature control issues can be acute. For example, in computing devices with high power chipsets in a so-called “shadow” arrangement (where the components are arranged in series with respect to airflow), such issues can lead to overheating problems. Specifically, a first upstream component (with respect to airflow) may be properly cooled, but a subsequent downstream component (with respect to airflow) may not be properly cooled. The reason is because once air is heated by the first component, the air has limited capacity to absorb heat from the second component.
Traditionally, this problem has been addressed by the use of different upstream and downstream heat sinks to balance airflow impedance. In particular, an upstream heat sink with low airflow impedance is used in order to allow more air to reach the downstream heat sink. In this way, the air reaching the downstream heat sink may have an elevated temperature, but still have sufficient capacity to absorb additional heat. Additionally, the downstream heat sink can be configured with a higher airflow impedance to cause the air to linger longer and absorb more heat. However, such configurations are a compromise, resulting in increased cooling efficiency for the downstream component at the cost of cooling efficiency for the upstream component. Moreover, such configurations are unidirectional. As a result, computing devices implementing such a scheme have to be mated with a compatible ventilation system to ensure airflow in the correct direction.